All Blacks: Fourteen tests on 2010 radar

Rugby bosses are hopeful they will soon agree a date and financial terms for another test at Twickenham next year which will provide the All Blacks with a Grand Slam itinerary.

Discussions are also moving towards agreement on playing a Bledisloe Cup test in Hong Kong on the way to the UK next year. New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew was in London this week and said he would be progressing discussions with the English, who wanted to sign off on next year's test before Christmas.

If deals can be struck, the All Blacks will be asked to play 14 tests next season for the second consecutive year. That will come on top of the 15 they played in 2008.

With the All Blacks likely to play seven tests before the World Cup in 2011, a guaranteed four pool games and possibly three more, they will end up playing 57 tests since they were dumped out of the 2007 quarter-final in Cardiff.

To put that into perspective, Colin Meads played 55 tests between 1957 and 1971 and barely missed a game. It took him a lifetime to graft his way to the century whereas a player now could reach the same mark in one World Cup cycle.

There won't be any All Black who actually plays all 57 tests in the cycle, but there will be some, such as Andrew Hore, Tony Woodcock, Brad Thorn, Richie McCaw, Jimmy Cowan, Dan Carter, Ma'a Nonu, Conrad Smith, Sitiveni Sivivatu and Mils Muliaina, who will play close to 50 in that period.

Thorn has endured one of the heaviest workloads of the current team in the last two years, having been involved in 24 of the 28 tests. He's played in every test this year bar the Italian game and has been in the form of his life.

He revealed after the test in Cardiff that it's a matter of pride for him to clock the hours.

"It's something I enjoy," he said. "I played every minute for the Crusaders in 2004. I guess it's something I take a lot of personal pride in."

He is a rare beast indeed - one of the few players at this level whose form improves with so many games. There has been much debate throughout the Graham Henry era about the issue of player welfare and how many tests players can handle in a season.

One of the areas of contention has been the lack of appearances made by the big stars in the provincial championship. While most All Blacks prefer to take time out after the Tri Nations, many of the leading Springboks jump straight into the Currie Cup.

The contrasting form of the All Blacks and Springboks on their respective November tours suggests the New Zealand way has some merit.

Those close to the South African camp say many of their top players are physically battered and mentally drained and that the current tour is a bridge too far for many of them.

Compare that with the All Blacks who, while not necessarily on fire, are certainly playing with zip and purpose.

Muliaina, who has won 25 caps since 2008 and is the player to have featured the most for the All Blacks, says that the break he had after the Tri Nations was critical in terms of rejuvenating him for the end of year trip.

Without that, he feared he would have been mentally flat, as he admitted he was on the South African leg of the Tri Nations.